For fifteen days a year, the tormented spirits of the departed swarm silently into Cambodia’s Buddhist monasteries. The dead are here to search for their surviving kin who, by committing simple acts of kindness, can free them from the cycle of perpetual suffering.

Pchum Ben, the Khmer festival of the dead, has been an integral part of the Cambodian calendar for millennia. Now, senior members of the Buddhist order suggest it’s experiencing a renaissance: the number of teens and twenty-somethings making the annual pilgrimage to their local pagodas is, apparently, on the rise.

Khy Sovanragana, 38, has been abbot of Wat Mongkulvan since 2006. “Over the years, since my return from abroad, I have observed an increase in the number of young people coming to the festival,” he said.

Part is through a sense of familial duty, he believes, but “they also take delight in coming to the temple where there are a lot of people because they get to work and play. It is one of the best chances to socialise and catch up with relatives.”

Manet ‘Ly’ Jensen, 27, runs a bustling beauty salon in Phnom Penh. Originally from Svay Rieng, she — along with many of her friends — doesn’t consider herself “religious,” but she observes Pchum Ben every year.

She’s been doing so for as long as she can remember, always endeavouring to visit a pagoda on each of the festival’s 15 days.

“We go not because we’re devout Buddhists, but because we feel it’s important to pay respect to our ancestors and to spend time with friends and family who live far away,” said Ly, who this year will be honouring the memory of her mother.

A Tale of Two Realms

The ritual has been observed since the 9th century, when Angkor became the proud seat of the Khmer Empire. At Wat Ounalom, above, hundreds gathered on Day 1 of the festival this year to honor their ancestors.

Literally translated, the name means “gathering” (pchum) and “offering” (ben).

The ritual has been observed since the 9th century, when Angkor became the proud seat of the Khmer Empire. The dominant system of belief in Cambodia at the time was not Theravada Buddhism, as it is today, but Hinduism and animism – the worship of a spirit world intertwined with our own (the Latin word anima means “soul” or “breath”).

It wouldn’t be absorbed into Cambodian Buddhism until Mahayana devotee King Jayavarman VII took the throne in 1181.

“It became part of the royal calendar after his mother died,” Khy Sovanragana, the abbot, explained. “He was so grief-stricken, he dedicated many temples. Banteay Chhmar is one of the most important, showing his gratitude to her and preserving her memory. During the Angkorian period, it was important to remember ancestors. He made it an official holiday, skilfully linking the event to Buddhism.”

Buddhism doesn’t attach much importance to the worshipping of ghosts, focussing more on rigorous mental training. But when Theravada Buddhism arrived in its present form sometime in the 12th or 13th century, Khmers embraced the new while continuing the old.

“Jayavarman was looking for sources to support Buddhism in the country,” said Khy Sovanragana. “Buddha saw through divine wisdom that ancestors did not have enough food, so needed ‘merit’ to be released from their suffering. King Jayavarman VII connected the festival of the dead to early Buddhism to make Buddhism more acceptable to the public.”

Even the Khmer Rouge couldn’t enforce their attempt to ban Pchum Ben.

One Good Deed…

Far from fading in the face of increasing rural-urban migration, the festival is experiencing an anecdotal surge in popularity among the young.

Key to the festival is karma.

To ease the ghosts’ suffering (hell comes in various hues, including fire, torture and perpetual thirst), the living offer parcels of sticky rice wrapped in palm leaves. Just as their Ankgorian ancestors did, Cambodian Buddhists file en masse to feed the monks at up to seven local pagodas from as early as 4am.

Each then pads three times around the temple, scattering fluffy white grains as they go. The gesture not only earns respite for tortured souls, known in Buddha’s preferred tongue Pali as “preth”, but also acknowledges the good deeds committed by surviving descendants. Good begets good in the circle of life and each gesture acts as a leg-up on the karmic ladder, leading eventually to Nirvana.

Contrary to popular belief, the festival is not a time of “doing nothing” for the pious. “Monks and nuns must remain in their residences, reciting the Dharma,” said Sok Piseth, a senior in Buddhist Studies at Batumwatey Monastery. “Each acts as a guru, a good adviser. It falls to them to explain the connection between the teachings of Buddha and the sticky piles of rice that litter the pagoda floors for more than a fortnight.”

Pchum Ben is commonly thought to have one purpose, that of appeasing the dead, but some scholars suggest there are three. “First we do something good and dedicate it to our ancestors,” Sok Piseth said. “The second is to cultivate one’s self, to understand more about religious rites in society and to cultivate the cranial mind. The third we call national solidarity, where the ceremony unites the nation to help us get more understanding of each other.”

The Modern World

Just as their Ankgorian ancestors did, Cambodian Buddhists file en masse to feed the monks at up to seven local pagodas from as early as 4am.

Far from fading in the face of increasing rural-urban migration, the festival is experiencing an anecdotal surge in popularity among the young. Sam Rith, a senior newspaper executive, had also noticed a fresh influx of young faces. “In the last few years, I have noticed not only that more young people are going to the pagodas, but also that they are doing more too,” he said.

Is this indicative of a rise in religious fervour?

Sok Piseth is not convinced. “I think more of them go because they see that it is what their parents did, without really understanding the spiritual meaning,” he said.

Ly, the salon owner, confirmed his suspicion. “It’s more about honouring your parents’ wishes than being religious,” she said. “We go because that is what they want us to do. I prefer to earn my good merit by helping the living, not the dead.”

Asked about the belief that failure to show face can bring a curse on your family, Abbot Khy Sovanragana lets loose a derisory snort. Such “rumours” were most likely started as a ploy to scare young folk into keeping the tradition alive, he scorns.

Alive it most certainly is — and open to anyone. Abbots welcome courtesy calls, but say don’t feel obliged, and monks graciously point out the lack of entry fee (donations are, of course, appreciated).

Pchum Ben 2010 falls between September 24 and October 9, the last three days are a public holiday and the acme of the activities. Pagodas open from 4 a.m., with some hosting boat races to “lighten up” the increasingly social event.

For a grand finale, take the road to Vihear Sour. The village, about 50km north of Phnom Penh, stages pride-fuelled buffalo races and traditional wrestling every year during the three-day climax.

The FCC Cambodia prepares for a fresh future under the auspices of new ownership

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The FCC Cambodia is preparing to write new chapters in the company’s history.

At the beginning of this year, the RMA Group, which owns several well-known brands in Cambodia, took a majority stake in The FCC, with the objective of helping the company fulfil its potential. Since then, architects have been hired, renovations are underway, and plans for regional expansion are on the horizon.

In addition, the company will be known as “FCC Hotels & Restaurants”, with a refined logo and simplified colors.

“The central focus is developing the FCC as a heritage hotel and restaurant brand,” said Marco Julià, the company’s new managing director. “Among the first steps are to refurbish and upgrade the properties, in order to develop the brand and deliver an enhanced customer experience.

In Siem Reap, we are expanding the property from 30 to more than 60 rooms, as well as renovating the existing property. In Phnom Penh, we will revamp the entire building.”

In keeping with the FCC Angkor’s heritage, Gary Fell of GFAB Architects, which designed the original FCC Angkor, has been hired to design the new wing.

The additional 30-plus rooms will be built on an adjacent property, just south of the current one, by following the hotel’s current external design. The additional section will include a new spa and a swimming pool.

Construction is scheduled to finish at the end of 2014.

Renovating the FCC Phnom Penh

Significant work is also planned for the FCC in Phnom Penh, where the company has hired Noor Architecture & Interiors, the group responsible for renovating the Raffles Le Royal during the mid-1990s. The aim is to recapture the splendour of the original FCC building.

Among the first changes people will notice is the closure of Cafe Fresco on the bottom floor of The FCC, as well as its sister property in BKKI.

“The focus is The FCC, and we intend to channel all our resources towards its development. Café Fresco is not seen as a core activity, and that’s why we have already started to close them,” Julià said.

Some initial work will begin upstairs at The FCC soon after as Noor starts revamping the restaurant’s interior design.

More meaningful work will occur after the high season, when the company will open another restaurant on the ground floor and renovate the original kitchen on the second floor, among other structural improvements. Work is planned to occur in phases to minimize disruptions.

“In the future, the main floor and the roof terrace will be refined,” explained Julià. “On the main (second) floor, the idea is to reinforce the essence of the FCC, its heritage and its traditions. From a culinary point of view, it will be a refined version featuring Asian and Western style dishes, which are the core of our menu, and a more interesting, reinforced wine and beer selection.”

Good brew will be among the operation’s highest priorities.

“We are working on enlarging the beer selection to make it more interesting,” Julià said. “We are looking at bringing in some additional international beers, like Guinness and some good Belgian beers, as well as other more interesting options — like flavoured beers, for instance — that you don’t find around.”

The rooftop terrace will be more “loungy,” but within the FCC style, he said, and focus on great reinterpretations of classic cocktails. “It’s all about the experience.”

Jerby Santo, lead singer and front man for the 80s indie-pop outfit Jaworski 7, can’t quite remember if it was the music that drove him into politics or the politics that thrust him into music.

Coming of age in Leyta, the Philippines, in the 1980s, the young Jerby couldn’t help but succumb to the politics of the time. Born in 1971, Jerby was an impressionable teenager in 1983 when protests against the Ferdinand Marcos government began.

“I started making songs when I was 13,” says Jerby, whose band plays The FCC in Phnom Penh on Sept. 28. “At the start, I had real a political edge.”

At KeoK’jay, every aspect of the business is carefully considered with the customer, the producer, and the environment in mind, from design, to materials, to production and packaging.

According to Rachel: “In order for responsible production to take root, it needs to be shown to be profitable without aid subsidies. KeoK’jay is (in some ways) a traditional, sales-supported business that can compete in the international fashion scene, but without all the labor violations and environment trashing. By creating high quality products that resonate with the ever-changing fashion market without sacrificing our principals, we aim to combat the traditional victim mentality that leads to dependency by building a business model that does not rely on charity to sell products. In other words, no one gives our staff wages; they earn them by making great stuff that people want to buy. And we think that’s pretty cool.”

Sustainability is one of development’s greatest challenges, but KeoK’jay seems to have found a method that works, at least in this instance. A strong focus on the business side of things no doubt helps.

KeoK’jay in Phnom Penh is located at Sisowath Quay and Street 110, about 10 minutes north of the FCC if you’re walking. For other locations, visit the Keo’Kjay web site contact page.

You’re cosying up with your spouse-to-be, scanning through pages of turquoise seas, fancypants hotels and experiences of a lifetime, trying to decide on a honeymoon destination. Chances are that Cambodia isn’t at the top of the list for unforgettable romance, but if you want to stretch your budget without sacrificing the exotic, perhaps it should be.

Travelfish is right. Cambodia hardly ranks among the world’s most romantic destinations. The country is more often framed in terms of its history, not its present or future. But that doesn’t mean that the Kingdom can’t make for a memorable honeymoon. Far from it.

In addition to the obvious, Travelfish cites secluded beaches, the bambootrain, motorcycle adventures and elephant trekking among the Kingdom’s more exotic offerings. But the best reason, of course, is for the uniquely Cambodian extravaganza of awesome wedding photos.

Coffee-house Culture Comes to Cambodia

A full-service deli with a penchant for Italian roast, the new Cafe Fresco is quietly amassing a following of coffee connoisseurs.

Because there’s no way to know what challenges the day ahead will bring, those at Cafe Fresco believe each morning might as well start with a cup of pure perfection.

“Cafe Fresco originated out of the need for a quality coffee shop in Phnom Penh,” says owner and founder Anthony Aldersons. “That’s the main message: contemporary design and absolutely great coffee. We’ve brought in Illy — an Italian gourmet coffee — and trainers from Thailand to come teach the art and science involved in making coffee. We’ve worked hard to make sure we have a world-class product.”

But Cafe Fresco, which opened its sleek glass doors in early November, is much more than just a coffee shop. It’s a futuristic eatery with a feel-good vibe; an efficient, fast-paced spaceship of a place that combines old-school delicatessen with an upscale urban environment. Cafe Fresco may well be the next step in the evolving culinary culture of Cambodia.

Pastries for all people

The health conscious will appreciate natural homemade yoghurt, fresh-squeezed juices and a mixed-up world of blended drinks: smoothies, frappes and lassies.

The more indulgent diner may be apt to sample the ever-revolving selection of pastries, cakes and cookies.

“There aren’t a lot of places where you can go to get a brownie or a piece of chocolate cake at any time of day,” says Dengate.

The neighborhood deli

Gourmet sandwiches range from classics like the Reuben to irresistible fusion offerings such as the salmon gravalox and cream cheese panini or the tuna nicoise wrap complete with capers and egg.

For the creative-minded set, the option of creating a make-your-own sandwich from hard-to-find international ingredients is available.

“A main theme is that customers can create their own sandwich,” Dengate says. “It’s like in a deli where you can see all the ingredients in front of you, but these items, like the imported meats and cheese, are very unusual to find in Phnom Penh.”

Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Cafe Fresco does breakfast, lunch or dinner.

“We’re the busiest between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.,” Dengate says. “Breakfast is usually pastries and yoghurts, lunch is a lot of sandwiches and salads, and dinner, so far, has been a relaxed, ‘snacky’ type of meals.”

Jody Bradshaw, a 33-year-old tourist from California, and his wife Michelle have started each of their five days in Phnom Penh at Cafe Fresco.

“We live in Sausalito — so we know about good coffee,” Bradshaw said recently above a frothy cup of Illy-brand coffee. “This is by the far the best cup we’ve had on our trip. This is close to our hotel and it’s clean and friendly. If it has everything we want, why should we go anywhere else?

Lost Highway, the classic rock outfit from Sihanoukville, is making a name for itself in Phnom Penh

I was just a lad, nearly twenty-two
Neither good nor bad, just a kid like you
And now I’m lost, too late to pray
Lord, I’ve paid the cost on the Lost Highway

So goes the song “Lost Highway,” made popular by the late country-and-western star Hank Williams. The name seems fitting for a classic rock band based in Sihanoukville, the beach-town escape at the end of Highway 4.

Named after the country’s former monarch, King Norodom Sihanouk, the seaside village sprung up in 1960 in a wave of post-colonial nationalism and pride. The feeling of change in the air in Cambodia at the time coincided with a growing sense in the West that more change was just around the corner. A few years later, a much larger quest for change culminated in a whole new generation of music that expressed a desire for a new and better world.

“The music of the 60’s was inspired by the times,” says veteran drummer Tom LaCroix, a.k.a Tommy Nick, one of Lost Highway’s founding members. “There was a lot of optimism and people really believed they could change the world.”

Born in Boston in 1951, Nick grew up listening to The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. He moved to the Bay Area in the mid 1980s and more recently to the coastal town of Sihanoukville.

“The music of the 60’s was inspired by the times. There was a lot of optimism and people really believed they could change the world.”

—Tommy Nick

A career musician, Nick is now a growing force behind Cambodia’s nascent live music scene. He’s played with the Lazy Jazz Drunks, Shangri La Band, El Dealbreakers and Those Guys. And in addition to Lost Highway, he’s also working on a “sideline” project called BluesBerry Jam.

Like most local-area bands, Lost Highway has seen half a dozen lineups since splintering from yet another band, Route 66, about a year-and-a-half ago. While transient expat lifestyles can prove to be a challenge to a band’s stability, they can also be a boon, Nick says.

“There have been so many different players,” he says. “It’s really been an honor to have played with so many talented people. Chris and Dave are the latest and, I must say, the band has never been tighter.”

In addition to Nick on drums, Lost Highway’s current lineup includes “Smokin'” Kenny Smith and Chris Kebeck on guitars and Dave Zdrilluk on bass.

Smith is the band’s second founding member, and Kebeck and Zdrilluk are Lost Highway’s most recent additions.

Like everyone in the band, Kebeck’s career dates back decades, and his resume includes stints with some genuine five-star acts. Kebeck recorded with Tim Dawe, an original member of Iron Butterfly, on Frank Zappa’s Straight Records label in the late 1960s. And in his forty-five years of professional experience — recording, performing and producing — he’s worked with the likes of Hoyt Axton, Three Dog Night, and The Righteous Brothers.

Before Kebeck’s arrival, Nick and Smith experimented with harmonica and keyboard players, but the pair found they preferred the stripped-down guitar sound. “We seem to work best as a two-guitar band,” Nick says.

Fans certainly agree. And as a result, Lost Highway has been making the road trip from the coast to the capital with growing regularity.

“Playing in Cambodia is an adventure. It can go either way, but it’s always raw and in the moment and cool — and that’s what makes it exciting,” Nick says. “There’s an artistic freedom here that’s very fresh.”